Is Myles Powell Going to the NBA? Analysts Questions Why Seton Hall Star Was Not Drafted

Sixty players saw their dreams turn into reality on Wednesday night when they were selected in the NBA Draft. Myles Powell, however, was not among them as he went undrafted and will hope to enter the NBA by the backdoor and sign with a team as a free agent.

As Powell's name remained on the board, analysts and college basketball fans questioned the wisdom of overlooking the 23-year-old, who racked up a slew of awards over his final two seasons at Seton Hall.

In his senior year with the Pirates, Powell won the Jerry West Award as the nation's top shooting guard in college basketball and the Big East Player of the Year Award, albeit in a truncated season that saw the Big East and NCAA Tournaments canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Powell averaged 21 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in his final season at Seton Hall, becoming only the fifth player in school history to pass the 2,000-point milestone.

He also became the first player in the Pirates history to win back-to-back Haggerty Awards—the accolade reserved for the top college player in the New York City metro area—and the first Seton Hall player to be a consensus selection in the Associated Press All-America first team since 1953.

For all the milestones he reached and awards he received in his senior season, however, Powell not being drafted was not entirely surprising.

In the lead-up to Wednesday night, neither The Athletic, ESPN nor The Ringer had him among the 60 players likely to be drafted. CBS Sports, meanwhile, had Powell going as the second-last pick.

"I think Myles is probably a fringe draft pick," ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz said earlier this week.

"He's one of the most accomplished scorers in college basketball though so you kind of know what you're getting. We've seen it over the course of his career.

"He can really, really shoot it. He's one of those kind of microwave-scorer type of guys who I think can come in and give you points if you want that off the bench. I would see him maybe being a guy who goes in the 50s or goes undrafted."

Powell wasn't the only Seton Hall player to be left on the board, with Romaro Gill also undrafted. More significantly, Powell's disappointment was initially shared by fellow consensus All-American Markus Howard, who averaged 27.8 points and 3.3 assists per game in his senior season at Marquette.

The NCAA scoring leader this season, Howard was the Big East Player of the Year in 2019 and was a first-team All-Big East selection in his final two years with the Golden Eagles.

After the draft, however, Howard signed a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets. Powell will be hoping to follow suit and join the list of players who have become NBA stars despite not being selected on draft night.